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Razor Sharp

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JEBar
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Razor Sharp

Post by JEBar » Thu Jul 16, 2020 3:44 pm

my two cary knives are a Buck 110 Folding Hunter that has been on my belt every day since early July 2018 ===> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E ... UTF8&psc=1 and Buck 284 Bantam that has been in my pocket every days since March 12, 2020 ===> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E ... UTF8&psc=1 .... the 110 has been used mostly for cutting related to food .... the 284 has been used for cutting every thing else .... today I decided to touch up the blades on both .... for the 284 it was the first time it has been sharpened .... while still sharp neither was shaving sharp .... following a few minutes of work on each, they they both have a razor edge .... gotta love a Buck .. :D
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by markiver54 » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:05 pm

Nice knives Jim. I have a Buck almost identical to yours.
My problem is getting that ' shaving ' sharp edge on any of my knives. What method do you use?
Carol is always asking me to sharpen kitchen knives as well, but they never end up much better than when I started.
:?
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by GunnyGene » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:24 pm

It just takes practice in maintaining the correct angle - or a jig you can set. The trouble with knives(as opposed hand planes, chisels, etc.) is that most blades are curved which makes maintaining the angle difficult. Other than that you can use almost any abrasive - Arkansas stones, even wet/dry sandpaper on a flat piece of glass. You should also have a strop, which you can buy or make yourself, impregnated with very fine compound, such as this:

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/flexcut-knife-strop

Most folks are too lazy to really take the time for the above, and just grab a electric combination can opener and grinder - and they wait too long between sharpenings. I don't recommend that. Also, if y'all are using any kind of cutting board besides an endgrain hardwood board the knives will need resharpening much more often.
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by markiver54 » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:40 pm

Thanks Gunny! The wife uses a bamboo cutting board and sometimes on of those white plastic types.
I guess that may be one of the problems.
As for sharpening, guess I just need to practice more. Funny though; when I used to bear hunt, I was able to get my skinning knife very sharp rather quickly using a pocket size diamond stone/plate that came with a handy leather sheath.
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by GunnyGene » Thu Jul 16, 2020 5:17 pm

markiver54 wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:40 pm
Thanks Gunny! The wife uses a bamboo cutting board and sometimes on of those white plastic types.
I guess that may be one of the problems.
As for sharpening, guess I just need to practice more. Funny though; when I used to bear hunt, I was able to get my skinning knife very sharp rather quickly using a pocket size diamond stone/plate that came with a handy leather sheath.
Plastic, glass, and steel are the absolute worst kind of boards on knifes. Bamboo is a compromise, and they're cheap which is why people buy them, but they're really no different than a face grain board which is also hard on blades. I've made dozens of endgrain boards for friends, and a couple of local restaurants and for sale. They require some maintenance of course (periodic oiling, hand washing, etc.) since you can't throw a wood board in the dishwasher, but they will last for decades if properly cared for. :)

Variations of these. Walnut and soft maple. Used to get $75 and up for them a few years ago. Don't make them anymore tho.

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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by JEBar » Thu Jul 16, 2020 6:22 pm

markiver54 wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:05 pm
What method do you use?
while its considered as heresy by blade sharpening purist, ;) for cheaper, working knives I use a Bavarian Edge sharpener ===> https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Kitchen-Kni ... B077JHX5M1 .... its a simple sharpener to use and with very little practice it can do a good job of sharpening, that includes all types of knife blades, like standard, serrated, and beveled edges .... while looked down on by many its sharpening system is similar to ones recommended by some quality knife makers like Cutco .... being old school, for almost all of my knives I prefer sharpening with a Smith's 50008 8-Inch Diamond Tri-Hone Bench Stone ===> https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-50008-8-I ... B001I6JGL4 .... I've used the one shown in the opening post for over 3 years .... as noted by GunnyGene, it just takes practice in maintaining the correct angle .... I do use Smith's Sharpening Oil with the stones and finish with an old barber strap
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by markiver54 » Thu Jul 16, 2020 6:54 pm

GunnyGene wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 5:17 pm
markiver54 wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:40 pm
Thanks Gunny! The wife uses a bamboo cutting board and sometimes on of those white plastic types.
I guess that may be one of the problems.
As for sharpening, guess I just need to practice more. Funny though; when I used to bear hunt, I was able to get my skinning knife very sharp rather quickly using a pocket size diamond stone/plate that came with a handy leather sheath.
Plastic, glass, and steel are the absolute worst kind of boards on knifes. Bamboo is a compromise, and they're cheap which is why people buy them, but they're really no different than a face grain board which is also hard on blades. I've made dozens of endgrain boards for friends, and a couple of local restaurants and for sale. They require some maintenance of course (periodic oiling, hand washing, etc.) since you can't throw a wood board in the dishwasher, but they will last for decades if properly cared for. :)

Very nice Gunny. Will keep that in mind. Great info, however the kitchen is not very large and she's a real stickler about storage. Beautiful boards though!!

Variations of these. Walnut and soft maple. Used to get $75 and up for them a few years ago. Don't make them anymore tho.

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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by markiver54 » Thu Jul 16, 2020 6:58 pm

JEBar wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 6:22 pm
markiver54 wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:05 pm
What method do you use?
while its considered as heresy by blade sharpening purist, ;) for cheaper, working knives I use a Bavarian Edge sharpener ===> https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Kitchen-Kni ... B077JHX5M1 .... its a simple sharpener to use and with very little practice it can do a good job of sharpening, that includes all types of knife blades, like standard, serrated, and beveled edges .... while looked down on by many its sharpening system is similar to ones recommended by some quality knife makers like Cutco .... being old school, for almost all of my knives I prefer sharpening with a Smith's 50008 8-Inch Diamond Tri-Hone Bench Stone ===> https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-50008-8-I ... B001I6JGL4 .... I've used the one shown in the opening post for over 3 years .... as noted by GunnyGene, it just takes practice in maintaining the correct angle .... I do use Smith's Sharpening Oil with the stones and finish with an old barber strap
Thanks for the info and the links Jim. Will have to delve into this deeper. I would score a lot of points if I get her knives sharp!!! :D
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by dave77 » Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:52 am

Here's some sharpening tips links sent to me from Zelle when I bought a couple of high quality knifes from them. Most are about sharpening kitchen knifes.


https://youtu.be/lVCM5BfeA8c
Shun Training Video – very good overview of knife construction and maintenance

https://youtu.be/MUdrRE7W0b4
Bob Kramer – Honing your Knife

https://youtu.be/kFhMGJYhYpU
Bob Kramer – Knife Sharpening

https://youtu.be/xRPrswhMdAc
Bob Kramer – what is sharp?

How to sharpen a serrated edge
https://youtu.be/9dUb4z7JC8M

Knife Sharpening With Mino Tsuchida
https://youtu.be/SIw5ChGOADE
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Re: Razor Sharp

Post by GunnyGene » Fri Jul 17, 2020 6:47 am

The reason knives (and other edged tools) dull is partly due to the granular structure of the alloy, and partly due to the edge that results from sharpening. Any abrasive used to remove metal will result in a microscopic irregular sawtooth pattern on the cutting edge. The finer the abrasive, the finer the "teeth" on the edge. The first few times you use the blade these very tiny and thin points will break off leaving what we perceive as a dull edge. Our objective in sharpening (to obtain a sharper and longer lasting edge) is to remove the "sawtooth" to the limits of the granular structure of the steel. This is where stropping comes into play, by controlled breaking and thinning these microscopic teeth to get as close to a continuous "toothless" edge as possible given the limits of the steel itself. Of course the shallower the angle is the thinner and weaker the edge will be, and that means it will bend more easily and eventually break off. So we must compromise between durability of the edge and it's sharpness by adjusting the sharpening angle(s). Again, the quality of the steel (hardness, alloy, etc.) limits what we can expect in both durability of the edge and it's potential degree of "sharpness" we can obtain.
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